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View Full Version : Dæmons and Dust [Dark Materials/D+D Crossover]



Hazkali
2007-12-19, 05:13 PM
Okay, firstly, please keep the theology and merits of the books and the mistitled film out of this thread.

Secondly, no Subtle Knife or Amber Spyglass spoilers please; whilst I've read the former, I haven't finished the latter (although it has probably been sevenish years since I put it down...), I don't want to spoil it for anyone else.

So, to the crux of the argument- does anyone think this would work? Would dæmons work like animal companions, or familiars, or something completely different?

ErrantX
2007-12-19, 05:41 PM
I would say familiars would be a more compatible mechanic, or some fusion of them both. In Races of the Wild, there is a druid/wizard PrC that combines those class features into a "companion familiar". That would be the best idea for a dæmon.

-X

The Cap'n
2007-12-20, 01:53 AM
From what I gather, Daemons would be a new human racial trait. Essentially, a Daemon is for all intents and purposes, you, just manifested in two places.

Some points:


Daemons manifest themselves as an animal between medium and fine size. The daemons of children who have not yet reached puberty have the ability to shapeshift into any form they choose as a swift action, including that of fanciful creatures such as pseudodragons, although they do not gain any of the supernatural or spell-like abilities of such forms.

A daemon has the Strength and Dexterity scores of the creature it resembles, and the Constitution and mental stats of its human. Like a familiar, the daemon shares skill ranks with its master and may assist skill checks, particularly those related to wisdom or intelligence. A Human and his daemon also share the same BAB and HD.

Daemons have the same HP as their master. When one takes damage or suffers a status affect, so does the other. If one dies, both die.

Daemons speak any and all languages that their human can speak.

Except in extreme circumstances, a Daemon cannot journey further than 50 feet from its human and vice versa.

Daemons may freely interact with one another, but it is a grave and terrible thing for one human to touch another's daemon. Doing so is almost always an Evil act.


As for witches and their ability to journey further from their demons, I might make this a feat limited to spellcasting characters, or else a class feature of whatever spellcasting classes you plan to use.

I'll comment on Dust once I get a better handle on what it is...

Robert "Almost Through Northern Lights..." Ranting

littlechicory
2007-12-20, 08:43 AM
Daemons may freely interact with one another, but it is a grave and terrible thing for one human to touch another's daemon. Doing so is almost always an Evil act.


Except that in Book 3 (The Amber Spyglass) it is shown to be acceptable for lovers to touch one another's daemons (this is how Lyra's and Will's daemons settle in their final forms). Which makes it seem that daemon-touching is roughly the moral equivalent of sex (or rape, if the touched daemon's owner is unwilling).